As his family grew to 11 children, Paul Vaughn gradually got used to people assuming that he and his wife, Bethany, were Catholic.
They are now.
During this year’s Easter Vigil, this 59-year-old pro-life activist from Centerville, Tennessee, Bethany Vaughn, and four of her children transitioned from evangelical Protestant Christianity to full communion with the Catholic Church at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in the nearby city of Columbia.
Paul Vaughn explained to OSV News that, like so many others, his journey to the fullness of the Catholic faith has been a winding path of faith, during which he had previously held leadership roles in a Reformed Baptist congregation and in an independent Presbyterian congregation that he himself had helped found.
Commitment to the Defense of Life
The legal proceedings involving the pro-life activist, which have now concluded with a settlement with the federal government—announced on July 28—for more than one million dollars from a Department of Justice compensation fund, also had their ups and downs.
Vaughn was one of 23 activists pardoned by President Donald Trump in January 2025 after being convicted of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). On March 5, 2021, Vaughn had participated in a protest that blocked the entrance to an abortion clinic in Mount Juliet, a suburb of Nashville.
Vaughn was not sentenced to prison, but rather to three years of probation following six months of house arrest.
«The process itself is the punishment,» he said. In addition to having to report to a probation officer, Vaughn explained that he had to report his income and was not allowed to travel for work—as a co-owner of a small Internet service provider—without permission.
He and Bethany were at the 2025 National March for Life in Washington when the pardons were announced. He described it as «a great ecumenical moment in support of life. Everyone stopped and came together in a spirit of unity.».
More settlements are expected from the Department of Justice. Vaughn and some of the other pro-life activists were represented by the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based law firm specializing in religious freedom.
Paul, a native of Arkansas, and Bethany, originally from Texas, met in the 1990s while providing counseling on the sidewalk outside abortion clinics, after serving in the Navy following high school and while working for IBM. Over time, he became president of Personhood Tennessee.
The Vaughns' eleven children range in age from 31 to 5, and six of them are already married. Paul Vaughn explained that the size of his family was not the result of any detailed plan.
What led you to Catholicism?
«We’re not great theological thinkers. God said that children are a blessing. Let’s make family our top priority, striving to do what’s right and enjoy that blessing,» he said.
They had always had Catholic friends in the pro-life movement, but Vaughn said the decision to convert to the Catholic faith began «probably four or five years ago. «We began to see many shortcomings in the leadership of our church and in our own spiritual journey.»”.
At that time, he was one of the three elders in his Baptist congregation, which was an independent Presbyterian congregation.
«We simply realized that the independent church model wasn’t working. There was no consistency in worship practices,» he explained.
«Protestants,» he noted, «have hang-ups about the Pope and Mary: they don’t understand what they believe in, but they know they’re supposed to have them.».
The Joy of Conversion
Joining the Catholic Church, he said, brought him «incredible joy.».
He said, «Of course, I haven’t regretted it at all. The focus is entirely on our relationship with Christ and on growing in grace with Him.».
Translation generated using the free version of the DeepL.com translator
Kurt Jensen writes for OSV News from Washington.
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